Big Steps...

What a weekend it has been for Scott and I! It's finally beginning to seem like we are making a life together out here in Colorado. This was the first weekend, since Scott moved here, that we were able to spend the whole weekend together and not have any plans! We found ourselves wondering what to do...but it was a good feeling!

Saturday was our biggest day of the weekend! The day started by buying ourselves a grill! We are so excited to have a grill now...we have so many plans for it! We tested it out last night and Scott showed off his grill skills. Tonight we are having our friends Stephanie, Jon and their boys over for a little Memorial Day BBQ. Scott is excited to finally have a grill so he can show off his skills to our friends. I think Scott feels like a "real" man now that he has a grill, it's really cute!

Also on Saturday, Scott and I found an apartment! We sign the lease next weekend, and we are very excited!!! It's a lovely 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in Superior, CO. We can move in on July 3rd, which gives us plenty of time to move both of our apartments into one and clean our old apartments. The location is wonderful and the price is right (which is really nice!). The apartment complex is only 4 years old and the interiors are really nice. We are both so excited to set up our new apartment! I know we won't have any problems decorating it! Our styles are very similar. And, I believe I made Scott's day when I told him we could decorate our second bedroom with airplane stuff! I found some really great old fashion airplanes at Hobby Lobby that I think will work perfectly in there. I'm looking forward to getting started in our new place! It's a very exciting time for us.

Besides our two big steps this weekend, we just enjoyed time to ourselves. It's been great not having to spend all my time doing homework! We can finally enjoy our time together! :-)

This week is full of fun as well! Tomorrow night I am getting together with several of my girl friends to have dinner. It's been forever since we've all gotten together, so I'm really looking forward to that! Scott and I are going to the No Doubt reunion concert on Wednesday night! We are both very excited! My best friend Krista is coming to visit on Thursday, so I'm looking forward to seeing her and taking her bridesmaid dress shopping! Saturday is our 1 year anniversary to our wedding! I can't believe it! We are going to celebrate by going out to dinner in Denver.

Well, that's all for now. I hope you are all doing well! I'll give another update next weekend!

Hugs & Kisses,
Heather

What a weekend!

Well, like I had imagined, this weekend was busy, productive and exciting! My Mom and I spent all day Saturday in Estes Park running around the town with our list of questions seeking out answers. Along the way we meet some very helpful, friendly and interesting people. They helped answer our long list of questions and even gave us some fun facts about Estes Park. For example, did you know that Estes Park is the #2 spot in the country to get married? In 1st place, Las Vegas.

The first item on our list: Find a place to hold the rehearsal reception. I had done some research online before this weekend, so I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted it to be. For those of you who have been to Estes, and those of you who haven't, you know that Estes Park is all about the view! Well, let me tell you, the place we are having the rehearsal reception has one of the best views in the town! Lake Estes Lodge, located on Lake Estes, is not only beautiful on the inside, it is also beautiful looking out. Windows frame the lake and Longs Peak, creating a picture perfect view. The rehearsal reception will be held around 11:30 on Saturday morning. We have yet to decided weather we will have brunch or lunch...both menus look great!

After checking off item #1 on our list, we moved on to the second item: Cake Bakeries in Estes Park. While at a Bridal Show in February, my Mom, Scott and I taste tested cake from a locale Estes Park bakery. My Mom and Scott raved about the white cake (I don't like white cake) and I really enjoyed the chocolate. We are thinking that having a local bakery do the cake might be a good idea, given the winding roads most caterers would have to travel on to get to Estes Park. So we stopped by the bakery and meet with the women who does the cakes. She was friendly, excited and very passionate about her cakes. I loved it! 20 minutes later, with a list of prices and a list of flavors and were on our way. I have a good feeling about her cakes and am looking forward to taste testing them with Scott in the future.

Our next stop was at Della Terra. This was the first time my Mom had seen the place and the first time I had seen it complete. It is more beautiful than the pictures! I couldn't stop smiling while we were there. I can just picture our wedding/reception and know it's going to be wonderful! We managed to get all of our questions answered and worked out some wedding day details with Pam, the Della Terra wedding planner. She is a lot of fun to work with and seems to have so many great ideas for our wedding. Scott and I will be back to visit on the 30th, so he can see it completely finished as well. We'll be sure to take pictures and posted them on our website.

Finally, the last thing on our list was to look at hotels and lodging in Estes Park. Estes Park is not lacking the in hospitality field. Hotels and lodges are everywhere, the key is finding the ones with the best amenities and prices. We are going to pick a few hotels in Estes and block rooms at them, hoping this gives our guests the opportunity to get stay at a great hotel at the best price.

After all of that, my Mom and I headed home with our heads full of information and even more questions/things to do on our lists. I had a great time with my Mom this weekend. I'm so happy she is here to help me plan my wedding and that she gets to be a part of it. I know she is loving every second! A wise person once told me, "You may have been planning our wedding since you were 5 years old, but you're Mother has been planning your wedding since the day you were born." I think that's true, so I am happy she can be a part of it.

That's all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful week!!!

XOXO

Heather

Just an quick update...

What a LONG 2 weeks it has been. Finals are over and the semester is finally done!!! After every semester I look back at all of the late nights, long days and hours I have spent on projects, homework, papers and studying and wonder how I managed to get through it. It seems like it will never end while in the middle of it, but when it's all said and done, I walk away with a feeling of accomplishment and success. Especially after this semester. And with only one more semester to go, I ended this semester with a smile on my face!

On Saturday, May 9th my good friends Amy and Dave welcomed their little boy Rylan Thomas Carahasen into this world. Mom and Baby are doing wonderful, and I hear Dave is the happiest father in the world. I wish them the best and can't wait to meet little Rylan in July.

Also last Saturday, my Mom and I had to put down my 14 year old cat Sami. She had been sick for a few weeks and wasn't getting any better. We found out she had a tumor on the left side of her face that caused her to stop eating and become blind. It was very hard to say good-bye to her. I got her when she was just 6 months old for the Boone Human Society, I was 11 years old. Sami Jo helped me get through my adolescent years and was very much my cat! She slept on my bed from the first night we brought her home. After I went away to college, she would always come sleep with me whenever I was home, and would continue to sleep there after I left, as long as my Mom didn't make the bed. She was wonderful and I am going to miss her.

This weekend starts my summer vacation! To kick it off I am spending the weekend in Fort Collins with my Mom (Scott is in Cali until Monday). We have a full weekend planned! Tomorrow we are going to Estes Park to done wedding stuff! :-) We are going to visit Della Terra tomorrow afternoon, I can't wait!!! If you haven't done so already, check out their website (http://www.dellaterramountainchateau.com/) and look at the pictures. This place is magical!!! We're also going to check out locations for the rehearsal brunch and a few bakeries in the area. I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about on Sunday!

I believe that is all for now. Check back often, as I'm sure I'll have much more to blog about now that the wedding planning has officially started! I hope you and your families have a wonderful weekend!

Miss you all!!!!
Heather

My "To Do" List.....

I can't believe it's May 1st already! It seems like this semester has flown by! We are now 12 months away from our wedding, which made me think about how much we have to do between now and then. I'm not feeling overwhelmed just yet, however, my "to do" list has grown!

The first thing on my list, finish this semester. Finals are a week away! It has been a rough few weeks for Scott and I, as I have been very busy with homework and projects and have little time to spend any quality time with Scott. He has been a great help though! He makes me dinner at night and coffee in the morning, really the only two things that matter during finals! I couldn't ask for a better guy!!! It's such a great feeling to know that I only have 1 last semester to complete before I have my Masters Degree! I have a feeling we will be having a big celebration in December!!!

The next few things on my "to do" list involve preparing to move in July! Once again, I'll be packing up my belongings and moving to a new address. This time however, we hope it will be more of a permit address for the both of us. We have found a wonderful two bedroom apartment in Superior, about 5 miles East of Boulder, and are both looking forward to the move. As a part of moving in together, we have had to decide on who's furniture, coffee pot, dishes and decor we will be using, it's been a good lesson in compromise! However, we still haven't figured out who's bed we will use....mine is more comfortable but Scott's is larger. I have a feeling he will win this one! Once we move we will send out our new address, so look for that come July.

The next thing on my list is to get our wedding website up and running. Knot.com has become one of my favorite websites, although I haven't had much time to spend on it in the last few months. It's my goal to get our website up and running by the end of May so you all can go check it out! We'll have links to where we are registered, lodging information for the wedding and other important information! I'll give you a heads up when it's ready to go!

The rest of my "to do" list involves the wedding. Sending out Save the Date cards, visiting Della Terra in it's completed stage (the last time we saw Della Terra it was under construction and only framed inside), finding a caterer, picking out a cake, figuring out what the groomsmen are going to wear, pick out Scott's tux, ordering the bridesmaids dresses....and the list goes on! We have a lot to do, however, with help from my Mom, Scott, Stephanie, Krista, my Aunt Clair and whoever else wants to help (just let me know) I think we should be able to get it all accomplished by the time Fall semester starts up.

Besides our ever growing "To Do" list, Scott and I have some exciting things to look forward to this summer! The first exciting thing is the birth of my very good friends Amy and Dave's baby. Baby C should be coming into this world very soon (we're talking days), so I have been patiently waiting next to my phone for any news. Scott will be in California in a few weeks to go to an airshow with his Dad, something he has been looking forward to for a very long time. While he's gone, I'll be hanging out with my Mom in Fort Collins. I'm looking forward to a girls weekend. My Dad is coming out to visit in June. July is a busy month! Scott's Mom and Step-Dad will be stopping in Colorado on their way to Vegas, John and Vicky will be in Estes Park for a vacation and we're moving! August is a less eventful, so far, with only Krista's graduation from DU! Between all of our events, Scott and I hope to do some hiking, play tennis, go on bike rides, spend time with friends and explore our new community. Whew, what a summer!

Well, I am off to work on homework. I hope all is well with you and your family!!!

Love,

Heather